If this is your first visit, be sure to
check out the FAQ by clicking the
link above. You may have to register
before you can post: click the register link above to proceed. To start viewing messages,
select the forum that you want to visit from the selection below.

I probably played Dark Forces 2 a billion times, so much that I can walk through those levels in my head. I would love a remake (keep the FMV!) but alas, I think Lucas Arts bit the bullet, didn't they?

I've only played Outcast and Academy, but I recently picked up the first two (and finally used up my random Gamestop giftcard in the process, whew) and am looking forward to trying them soon!

Outcast and Academy are weird because Outcast is far more memorable to me (I even liked the pre-lightsaber missions a lot) but as a result, I have played through Academy more times because every couple of years I will think "Oh I never beat that game! I should play it to the end" and then when I get to the last level I remember "wait, I DID beat this!"

(the one part of Academy I never forget though, is Luke's spooky eyes)

Used to play a lot of multiplayer Outcast with my brothers; #MonMothma4Lief. >_<

The Secret of Gargoyle Manor, a browser point-and-click adventure about retrieving your lost hat whatever the cost, is something you could play!

Oh, wow. Thanks for reminding me about that, khaz. That was probably the reason I spent so much time playing those games, and also probably why I never enjoyed action figures as a child. Why toss lumps of plastic at each other if you could press a few buttons and see it happen?

It's a given that plot and scripting were better in Outcast, but I definitely had more fun with Academy and it is far better to replay. Academy is more like an (action) Jedi simulator, dispensing with any need to resort to your standard weapons, whereas Outcast often forced you into using a gun. Variety you might say, but the gun handling was shit in both games that they were just a slog to use. This is why the pre-lightsaber levels are so dreary. I would actually go further and say that the game doesn't really get good until (I think it was) level 9. This is because they decided it would probably be a good idea to drop you into sniper alley when you finally got hold of your lightsaber, meaning you actually couldn't use it for quite a few chunks of the level. This was followed by a few other levels with lots of open areas that you aren't really powerful enough to deal with unless you grab a gun.

Academy removes any pretence that you might want to use any weapon besides the iconic laser sword. They are still there if you want, but the levels are designed around you wanting to hack and slash rather than blast your way through them. The variety of the levels are also more interesting, although this is at the expense of a cohesive plot.

When it comes to the series as a whole though, Dark Forces 2 surpasses both by miles. As everyone ha already said, the level design is some of the best in any FPS and you want to use all the weapons, not just the lightsaber. Duels are incredibly tense, dispite the fairly simple saber combat and the branching plot is excellently handled (spoiler aleart - you become the fucking Emperor of the galaxy!!). The FMVs are also perfectly camp (I have an embarrassing memory of being able to recite the whole opening cinematic - "MORGAN KATARN!!! This man holds the secret of the Valley's location. Very interesting.") It even had an excellent expansion, that might well have even surpassed it.

I'm in the odd position of feeling like Outcast is a significantly better game in terms of balance, writing, and level design but finding Academy significantly more fun as a Jedi beat-em-up. There's more variety in the saber combat and the power system is less elegantly balanced more more loopy fun. Saber combat is a little more hectic which makes it both more outlandish at times and less predictable--I'll stick to Outcast for multiplayer any day because it feels less random.

I think of [the Internet] as a grisly raw steak laid out on a porcelain benchtop in the sun, covered in chocolate hazelnut sauce. In the background plays Stardustís Music Sounds Better With You. Thereís lots of fog. --tomeoftom